I seem to vary my attraction with accessories. I'll go through periods where I carefully select what shoes, jewelry, hats, bags and scarves will set off my wardrobe and then I'll have another phase where I just grab the same shoes and jewelry and wear them everyday. I'm currently going through a more minimalistic period, but I have a TON of accessories lying in waiting.
Most of my accessories are cheap costume pieces that I've picked up over the years, but I also have some pieces that I have made and some costume jewelry that I inherited from my grandma. I tend to pick out one bag and use it all season long and I have several jewelry/accessories that I wear nearly everyday including my wedding/engagement ring, my watch, an antique silver ring that my husband got for me, and the same earrings and nose ring that I received when I got pierced (side note: my nose piercing is still healing, but my ear piercings are more than a decade old). I also love wearing hats especially in the summer and on the weekends.
Listed below are my requirements for the accessories that I acquire:
Functional Accessories
These can be decorative accessories, but they also have some functionality to them and serve a purpose.
- Shoes: Comfortable, long-lasting, fashionable, mostly flats.
- Bags: I tend to swap these out seasonally. Spring: bright or pastel Summer: Neon Fall/Winter: neutral. I prefer bags with long shoulder straps and lots of pockets.
- Hats: Warm knit hats for winter.
- Belts: Simple, leather. In black and brown primarily.
- Scarves: (For winter) Warm. Not itchy.
- Gloves: (For winter) knit or leather. Black.
- Glasses: Classic. Face flattering. Black or tortoise.
- Sunglasses: Face flattering. Trendy.
- Legwear: Neutral colored leggings in long length for winter and short under dresses and skirts in summer. Classic colored tights/ hosiery for dresses.
Decorative Accessories
These are accessories that you wear to enhance your style and don't necessarily have any other functionality.
- Jewelry: Hypo-allergenic/ nickel free. Vintage (or vintage inspired) or minimal and timeless.
- Scarves: Silk or cotton scarves in fun colors and prints.
- Hair: Headbands and hair scarves in fun colors and prints.
- Hats: Wool/ Felt hats for fall/winter, cotton and woven hats for spring/summer.
How Many?
After evaluating my accessory requirements, it was time to evaluate what items I already had in my closet to determine which items and how many I want to include in my capsule wardrobe. I already had the two pairs of shoes that I wear the most in mind when I made my original capsule list and I've been carrying my neon bag pretty much every single day, so the biggest factors were hats, jewelry and scarves. Most of the items below are similar to those in my closet.
J.Crew vintage sandals, £120 / Adidas black 80s fashion / Topshop leather sandals, £27 / Toms espadrille / Vans purse / Satchel hand bag / Antique filigree ring, £995 / Kate Spade 14k earrings, £35 / Casio watch, £26 / KENNETH JAY LANE gold ruby earrings, £27 / Above the knuckle ring, £8.92 / Yves Saint Laurent yellow patent leather belt, £255 / Jil Sander ruffle scarve, £105 / Linea Pelle cognac belt, £52 / Straw fedora / Banana republic hat, £29 / Sperry Top Sider braided belt, £29 / Brimmed hat, £17 / Snake belt / Circle scarf, £6.48 / Navy blue floppy hat / Wire headband / H M black leather belt
I still need to sew a hair scarf (using Tilly's Brigitte pattern) and I'd like to purchase some midi rings, a navy/white floppy hat, a new nose screw and some black sandals.
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